DIY No Miter Cut Picture Frame

Hey there friends! Have you ever wanted to make your own picture frames? Are you intimidated by miter cuts? Want an easy way to make frames that doesn’t require dealing with any miter cuts? Then these DIY home decor plans are for you! This DIY picture frame doesn’t require any miter cuts… only 8 straight cuts are needed!

Depending on the finish you choose, you’ll probably be able to cut, assemble, finish and hang on the wall all before dinner! What’s better than not dealing with miter cuts? These frames require hardly any measuring!

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I’m always looking for an easier way to do things. And sure, I’ve made miter cut frames, but it does take a little work to get the miters right and tight. I’ve come up with an easy way to make professional looking frames without dealing with finicky miter cuts. They’re so easy to make, a 10 year old could do make them an end up with a frame worthy of a gallery!

The secret is the two jigs. You’ll use the jigs to measure the frame pieces and for assembly. Once you have the jigs, you can make frames any time you want. You can paint, stain or leave them raw. These frames make great gifts. And they’re perfect for last minute gifts, because they are so quick and easy to make.

A couple of notes:

First, I’m not a fan of end grain. Because these frames don’t use miter cuts (which would hide the end grain), I’m going to give you a few tips to avoid the dreaded end grain. You can build these any way you like, but my recommendation is to first determine if your photo will be landscape or portrait. Then follow the jig instructions. This way, the end grain will point to the ceiling and floor and will yield a more polished look.

Second, and probably most important, these frames can be made any size you want! This plan makes an 8×10 frame, but you can increase or decrease the measurements to standard size frames or even custom sized frames.

Third, the frames are made with pocket screws, but can be assembled with finish nails.

Finally, you can further customize the look by attaching moulding to the face frame or use a router with a decorative bit on the outside and inside edge of the frame.

Step 1 – Cut two pieces from MDF/plywood to make the Face Frame jig and the Glass Frame jig and label as shown in the diagram below. Be sure to measure your glass before cutting the glass frame jig and adjust size if necessary. The glass will need to easily fit in the glass frame.

Face Frame Jig

Glass Frame Jig

Step 2 – Cut the horizontal Face Frame pieces. Determine if your photo will be landscape or portrait. This photo demonstrates a landscape frame. Position wood on edge of jig, mark the other edge and cut. Cut second horizontal piece and place on other end of jig.

Alternatively you can attach using nails. If you’re not using a nail gun, pre-drill holes in vertical pieces, apply glue, clamp to jig and attach using 2″ finish nails.

Step 5 – Cut the horizontal Glass Frame pieces. Note: Glass Frame pieces are set on edge. Position wood on edge of jig, mark the other edge and cut. Cut second horizontal piece and place on other end of jig.

Hi Irina – Thank you for stopping by. That’s a good question. Step 9 describes adding and securing the glass: “Insert glass, a mat, a photo and use push pins to hold everything in place.” Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Yep, that’s exactly what I was wondering! How do you use pushpins to hold all of that in place? Do they go into the mat, and is the mat meant to be as large as the outer frame? Is that strong enough for glass and such? Have you tried it, by any chance? I recently built a (less cool) frame and had lots of trouble with that last part 🙂

Hey Irina – The glass and mat are standard 8×10 sizes and fit within the “glass frame”. The pushpins are pushed into the sides of the wood glass frame. By doing it this way the side of pushpins presses against the glass, mat and photo which holds everything in place. I have these in my own home, made a batch of them for gifts and friend even used them to submit photo entries in a local county fair and the pushpins have always been strong enough to hold everything in place.

Hi there, this looks great but one of the supplies is more expensive than a frame (Krel Jig). Can you make the jig without the Krel Jig using something like cardboard? Sorry I’ve never done any wood work!

Hi Kay – Thank you for stopping by. I understand how you feel about the Kreg Jig, but like any tool, it’s an investment. Plus, the jig can be used for many other projects other than making frames. There are less expensive pocket hole jigs like the Kreg Jig Mini. If you don’t use pocket holes to assemble the frame you’ll need some other type of fastener to keep the frame together and I’m not sure what the fastener would be. In reviewing the plan there isn’t enough space to use a mending plate. Driving a screw into end grain doesn’t create a strong joint and the screw would be visible on the outside of the frame. I think pocket hole joinery is the best way to go for this project.

Could you tell me if it’s possible to make without using the Kreg tool? Also, I want to make an 18×24 frame, so what do I use for measurements for the jig? Thank you. This is a great way to help me make an easy frame

Hi Elizabeth – Thank you for stopping by. If you don’t use pocket holes to assemble the frame you’ll need some other type of fastener to keep the frame together and I’m not sure what the fastener would be. In reviewing the plan there isn’t enough space to use mending plates. Driving a screw into end grain doesn’t create a strong joint and the screw would be visible on the outside of the frame. I think pocket hole joinery is the best way to go for this project. If you are looking for an inexpensive pocket hole jig the Kreg Jig Mini is a great option.

As for the measurements I think you could use 17-1/2″ x 23-1/2″ for the face frame. I would recommend checking these measurements on your artwork to be sure it will fit within the opening and adjust the measurements if necessary. I think you could use 18″ x 24″ for the glass frame. Again, I would recommend that you check these measurements to be sure your glass will fit inside the opening and adjust the measurements if necessary.

Hi Mark – Thank you for stopping by. The Kreg Jig can be used on 1×2 material, but you’re right, it does have more of a chance of cracking. I would recommend following all of the rules you would use for other pocket hole joints to avoid cracking. Use fine thread pocket hole screws for hardwoods and coarse thread pocket hole screws for softwoods. Go slow when driving the screw and don’t over tighten. Wax can also be applied to the screw to help it slide through the wood a little easier.

Alternatively for this plan you could use just one pocket hole in each end to make the face frame. You’ll just have to be careful where you position the screws in the glass frame so they don’t drive into the pocket screw in the face frame.

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